"Y'r eyes are… pr'tty."

Natsu giggled and the hospital nurse raised his eyebrows, a small smile creeping across his face. He shone a light into Natsu's eyes and Natsu winced, pulling back. Everything hurt.

"Didn't you tell me that a pretty boy got you into this mess?" the nurse teased. Natsu frowned, looking at the man's name tag. Loke.

"Lis'n, Loke…" Natsu frowned, blinking a few times. Everything was fuzzy, but this was important. "Sting's r'lly… r'lly pretty."

"So you've told me," Loke replied, tipping Natsu's chin up and looking at the stitches along his forehead. A dark bruise was forming over his left cheek, accompanying the bright red scrape that ran down to his chin. "Sting didn't answer his phone, though, did you have somebody else who could come pick you up?"

Natsu looked at Loke blankly for a moment, then dug in his pocket for his phone. The screen was cracked, bits of glass falling out, and he pouted.

"I… jus' got this," he said, sighing deeply. Loke took the phone from him gently, flipping it open to his text history. The first conversation that popped up was a group chat titled four dicks (pretty boyfriends). Loke raised an eyebrow, turning the phone to Natsu.

"Anyone from here?" he asked.

"Yeah!" Natsu's face lit up and he went to grab the phone before looking down and remembering that his arm was in a cast from wrist to shoulder. "Hurts."

"I know it does," Loke said gently. "We'll get you some more painkillers. Can I call one of your… boyfriends?"

"Mm." Natsu yawned. "Gray's… think he's a' work." He raised his eyebrows and leaned in to whisper conspiratorially to Loke. "He- som'times he's grumpy, but- but he's good."

"Uhuh." Loke tapped on the group chat. "So is he… lucky mushroom xoxo, #1 at sucking dicks or bossy bitch who ate my noodles?"

"Dicks," Natsu replied automatically. Loke rolled his eyes and tapped the name, putting the broken phone to his ear. It rang several times before someone picked up.

"Hey babe, I'm just going into a meeting, can you-"

"I'm sorry, this is Toronto General Hospital," Loke interrupted. He heard a sharp intake of breath and quickly reassured, "Natsu is okay, he had a bit of an accident and ended up here. He's been given some painkillers and he needs someone to pick him up."

"Baaaabe," Natsu called out loudly. "'s cause Sting sen' me a hot-"

"You can tell him when he gets here," Loke said firmly, looking around to the other patients. Then he turned back to the phone. "Are you-"

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"He… got hit by a car because Sting sent him a nude?" Rogue's voice was incredulous as he watched Gray lead Natsu into the apartment, then guide him to the couch where Sting was sitting, nearly in tears.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," Sting said, gently pulling Natsu into a hug. Natsu hummed against Sting's shoulder, giving him a sloppy kiss on the neck.

"'s okay," he slurred. Sting raised his eyebrows at Gray, who smiled softly and shook his head.

"He's on… a considerable amount of painkillers," Gray said, shaking the bag of prescription bottles. "He managed to break his arm in two places, fracture his skull, and get sixteen stitches in his head and leg."

"Gods, babe," Sting gasped, brushing Natsu's hair out of his face. "What- how-"

"According to the nurse," Gray said, "he-"

"Nurse was pr'tty," Natsu said sleepily, leaning against the back of the couch. He looked over at Sting with pure adoration on his face and reached out with his non-injured arm to touch Sting's cheek. "Not- not as pretty 's you. I tol' him that." Sting's cheeks flushed pink.

"Anyway," Gray continued, reaching over the couch and stroking Natsu's hair affectionately. "He got distracted by the text while crossing the street and nearly got hit by a car, and when he jumped out of the way, he got hit by a guy on a bicycle which pushed him back into the path of the car."

"Shit." Rogue sat down on the couch next to Natsu, who yawned and snuggled up against Sting, shifting until he was almost entirely in Sting's lap.

"I like you… so much," Natsu murmured, curling his fingers in Sting's shirt. Sting looked up at the other two, tears slipping from his eyes as he gently stroked Natsu's back. "'s tot'ly worth 't."

"Sting Eucliffe, if you don't stop apologizing, I'm going to smother you with a pillow." Natsu glared at his boyfriend, gesturing to cushion on his lap. "This pillow, specifically."

"But- I'm-"

"Don't say it," Natsu warned. The look on Sting's face made his heart hurt. "C'mere, sweetheart."

Sting sighed, settling on the bed next to Natsu and resting carefully on his shoulder. Natsu ran his fingers through Sting's hair, kissing the top of his head.

"I'm fine, love," he murmured. Sting poked the cast on his arm.

"This disagrees," he grumbled. "How's your head?"

Natsu brought his fingers up to the side of his head, where the doctors told him he'd fractured his skull – not serious enough to warrant surgery, but enough to be on bed rest for nearly a week. "Hurts like a bitch," he said honestly. "But I'll live. They gave me the good drugs, remember?"

"Mm." Sting pressed his face into Natsu's shoulder, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"I'm-"

"Don't." Natsu squeezed Sting harder against him. "I should have been watching where I was going. I love you and it wasn't your fault."

Sting didn't reply, and Natsu could feel soft breaths against his throat, slowly evening out until he could tell that Sting was asleep. There was a knock on the door and Gray peeked in, smiling fondly at them.

"Hey, you," he said softly. He settled down on Natsu's other side and reached up, brushing his hair out of his face. "You need some more painkillers?"

Natsu made a face. "Yeah," he said reluctantly. "Hurts."

Gray leaned forward and brushed his lips over Natsu's forehead. "Must be bad if you're admitting it. I'll grab you some of the T3s. You want anything else?"

"Mmm. Do we have any pizza bagels?"

Gray shook his head. "No, but I can pop out and grab some." Natsu raised his eyebrows – usually Gray got on his case about eating 'gross teenage junk.' "You want anything else? I can get that ice cream you like."

Natsu pressed a kiss to Gray's lips. "You're spoiling me," he whispered. Gray let out a soft laugh, reaching up and wiping Natsu's cheeks with his thumb.

"And you're crying," he murmured.

"'s the drugs," Natsu insisted, cheeks flushing. Gray hummed in false agreement, then rested their foreheads together, brushing Natsu's hair away from his face.

"I was really scared," Gray said softly, voice catching. "I thought you- it looked so bad. You had blood- it was everywhere." He pulled Natsu close to him, adding softly, "if it means you're okay, I'll do anything for you."